Method and apparatus for establishing a voice call to a PSTN extension for a networked client computer

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for establishing a voice call to a PSTN extension for a networked client computer, and routing the voice call off of the network, is provided. In a first embodiment, the apparatus comprises a storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions for implementing a set of communication services for facilitating establishment of the voice call to the PSTN extension, and an execution unit, coupled to the storage medium, for executing the plurality of programming instructions. The set of communication services include services for receiving a Push-To-Talk™ request from the networked client computer, requesting the voice call, and in response, determining the PSTN extension. The Push-To-Talk™ request includes identification information of an originating web server of the Push-To-Talk™ option, and the determination of the PSTN extension is made in accordance with the originating web server&#39;s identification information.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/823,211 filed Mar. 30, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,760. Thisapplication claims priority to the following U.S. patent applications:Ser. No. 09/823,211, filed Mar. 30, 2001, which is a continuation ofSer. No. 09/418,763, filed Oct. 15, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,878 andSer. No. 08/818/770 filed Mar. 14, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,087,Ser. No. 10/161,830, filed Jun. 4, 2002 which is a CIP of Ser. No.09/326,927 filed Jun. 5, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,404,864. U.S. Pat.No. 6,404,864 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications and, inparticular, to a method and apparatus for establishing a voice call to aPublic Switching Telephone Network (PSTN) extension for a networkedclient computer.

2. Background Information

Numerous advances have been made in recent years in the field oftelecommunications. In particular, the field of internet telephony hasemerged as a viable technology that is evolving at an ever increasingrate. Evidence of this evolution of internet telephony is bestcharacterized by the number of new products recently become available inthe market. Products such as CoolTalk by Netscape CommunicationsCorporation of Mountain View, Calif.; Internet Connection Phone byInternational Business Machines of Amonk, N.Y.; Intel Internet Phone(IPhone) by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.; NetMeeting byMicrosoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.; Quarterdeck WebTalk byQuarterdeck Corporation of Marina Del Rey, Calif.; TeleVox by VoxwareIncorporated of Princeton, N.J.; and WebPhone by Netspeak Corporation ofBoca Raton, Fla., are representative of the current state ofapplications facilitating interent telephony.

Each of these products offers internet based voice communications with atelephone motif, between two users each using the same (or compatible)product on either end of the internet connection. That is, the internetprovides the “switching” architecture for the system, while the computeracts as the “handset”, or the audio interface. One reason for theproliferation of these applications is a desire to push the technologyof the internet to provide a total communications tool. The appeal tousers is that, currently, the use of the internet is free of tollcharges. Therefore, currently, a user of an internet phone product maycommunicate with another user located anywhere else in the world withouthaving to pay the long distance charges associated with making atelephone call using the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

However, consumers expecting to completely eliminate their long-distancetelephone bills through the exclusive use of internet telephony are infor a disappointment. As they shall soon discover, although innovativein their own right, the current internet based telephony applicationsidentified above have a number of limitations which retard theiracceptance as a primary communications tool. One such limitation is thatmany of the applications identified above require that both users haveinstalled the same software package, or compatible packages and,therefore, provide a relatively low level of interoperability. Onereason for this lack of interoperability between internet telephonyapplications is that the developers of many of these products haveincorporated different voice encoders (commonly referred to as a “voicecodec”, or simply a “codec” by those in the telecommunication arts) inthe products. Consequently, as a result of the different codecs used,many internet telephony applications are unable to recognize speechencoded (i.e., digitized) by a codec of a disimilar application.

This problem is alleviated for those products that are upgraded tocomply with emerging telephony standards, such as InternationalTelecommunication Union's (ITU) H.323 standard. However, otherlimitations remain. For example, another limitation associated with manyof these products is that they are tied to the internet, often requiringall users to access a common server in order to maintain a directory ofavailable users in which to call. That is to say, many of theapplications identified above do not integrate the packet switchednetwork of the internet with the circuit switched public switchedtelephone network (PSTN). Therefore, although a computer connected tothe internet may communicate with another user on the internet, assumingthey are both using a common software application (or at leastapplications with compatible codecs), these applications do not supportcommunication with a user of a Telephone handset.

The reason for this limitation is readily understood by those whoappreciate the complexity of the two networks. As alluded to above, theinternet is a packet switched network. That is to say, communicationover the internet is accomplished by “breaking” the transmitted datainto varying-sized packages (or “packets”), based primarily oncommunication content, and interleaving the various-sized packages tobest utilize the bandwidth available at any given time on the internet.When the packets reach their intended destination, they must bereassembled into the originally transmitted data. Loss of packets, andthus data, occur frequently in such a network, and the ability of thenetwork to successfully transmit information from one point in thenetwork to another determines the quality of the network. Forinter-computer communication transactions involving non real-time data,the ability to transmit packets and retransmit any packets that areperceived to have been dropped is not a severe limitation and may noteven be perceived by the user of the system. However, in a voicecommunication transaction, the delay required to retransmit even onedata packet may be perceived by a user. At best, such delays are anannoying inconvenience. In practice, the delays actually can becomeintolerable, as the cumulative latency adds up with successivetransmissions.

In contrast to the packet switched network of the internet, the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) is a circuit switched network. That isto say that the PSTN assigns a dedicated communication line to a userwith which to complete the telephone call, wherein the user can utilizethe assigned resource of the PSTN in any way they choose, with theunderstanding that the user is paying for the use of the dedicatedresource of the PSTN. While the circuit switched approach of the PSTNsystem is not necessarily the most efficient system in terms of calltraffic (i.e., it does not make use of the “dead space” common in aconversation), it is relatively easy to ensure that information destinedfor a particular user is delivered, it simply provides a dedicated lineto complete the transaction.

Nonetheless, despite these engineering challanges, a few products haveemerged which purport to integrate the PSTN to the internet. Productssuch as Net2Phone by IDT Corporation of Hackensack, N.J., claim toprovide a computer user with the ability to place and receive a phonecall to/from a PSTN extension. Unfortunately, none of these productscompletely solve the problem of integrating the two networks. Thelimitations perhaps best characterized by way of an examplecommunication session. With these prior art internet telephonyapplications, a user of an internet telephony enabled client computerinitiating a telephone call to a Telephone handset launches the voicecall from the client computer by accessing a server (the primary accessserver), operated by the developer of the internet telephony applicationthat supports internet telecommunications. As the initiator accesses theprimary access server, he/she is prompted for a destination address,which takes the form of a PSTN telephone number for an outgoing call toa Telephone handset. Having provided the primary access server with thePSTN telephone number associated with the Telephone handset, the primaryserver somehow determines¹ which server in a community of similarlyenabled servers (i.e., servers with the hardware/software necessary toprovide access to the PSTN) is closest to the destination address, andcompletes the telephone call by routing the telephone call through anumber of intermediate servers on the internet to the selected server,which will actually place the voice call to the Telephone handset onbehalf of the client computer, facilitating the voice call between theclient computer and the Telephone handset. In other words, the user ofthe client computer is required to have prior knowledge of thedestination phone number, which is limiting in many circumstances. Forexample, in a situation where the user of the client computer is engagedin a data communication session involving a webpage for a corporateentity, the user may wish to speak with someone in a “local office” ofthe corporate entity. Prior art internet telephony applications requirethat the telephone number for the “local office” of the corporate entitybe provided by the user of the client computer in order to place thetelephone call. If the telephone number for the “local office” of thecorporate entity is not provided by the webpage, the user of clientcomputer must look it up or have prior knowledge of it. ¹ The manner inwhich the “primary access server” determines the “call originatingserver” is not known.

Additionally, while the prior art approach of simply finding theinternet telephony enabled server closest to the destination address mayoffer the simplest technical solution and a seemingly cheaperconnection, it does not ensure the quality of the voice connection. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that there are a number ofcharacteristics which may impact the quality of the voice connection.For example, insofar as the internet is a packet switched network, asthe number of intermediate routers required to interface the clientcomputer to the selected server increases so, too, does the likelihoodthat data packets containing voice information could be lost orcorrupted. The result of lost or corrupted data packets is broken orgarbled speech. Another factor affecting internet telephonycommunication performance is the bandwidth available on the selectedserver. If, for example, the selected server is very busy handling anumber of other processes, the performance associated with each of theprocesses begins to degrade (i.e., slow down), which may also result indelayed delivery of data packets containing speech, which in turnresults in user perception of poor quality. Therefore, while it isimportant to some users of internet telephony applications to simplykeep the cost down, quality considerations must also be accounted for toenable internet telephony to evolve into a viable communications tool.

Thus, a need exists for a method and apparatus for establishing a voicecall to a PSTN extension for a networked client computer that isunencumbered by the limitations associated with the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a method andapparatus for establishing a voice call to a PSTN extension for anetworked client computer, and routing the voice call off of thenetwork, is provided. In a first embodiment, the apparatus comprises astorage medium having stored therein a plurality of programminginstructions for implementing a set of communication services forfacilitating establishment of the voice call to the PSTN extension, andan execution unit, coupled to the storage medium, for executing theplurality of programming instructions. The set of communication servicesinclude services for receiving a Push-To-Talk™² event notification fromthe networked client computer, notifying of client computer's desire tohave voice communication, and in response, determining the PSTNextension. The Push-To-Talk™ event notification includes identificationinformation of an originating web server of the Push-To-Talk™ option,and the determination of the PSTN extension is made in accordance withthe originating web server's identification information. ² Push-To-Talk™is a Trademark of eFusion™, Incorporated of Beaverton, Oreg.

In another embodiment, the set of communication services further includeservices for providing the client computer with the IP address of theapparatus, and receiving a supplemental call request from the clientcomputer. The supplemental call request includes the IP address,telephony and geographical information of the client computer, and thedetermination of the PSTN extension is also made in accordance with thetelephony and/or geographical information of the client computer.

In yet another embodiment, the set of communication services furtherinclude services for soliciting inputs from one or more otherapparatuses on one or more operating characteristics associated withestablishing and facilitating the voice call between the client computerand the PSIN extension, selecting either the apparatus itself or one ofthe other apparatuses to complete the telephone call based on thesolicited inputs, registering the voice call with the selectedapparatus, and identifying the selected apparatus to the clientcomputer.

In yet another embodiment, the set of communication services furtherinclude services for accepting registration of the voice call, receivingplacement of a net phone call from the client computer, placing a PSTNphone call to the PSTN extension, and bridging the net and the PSTNphone calls. The bridging services include services for converting anddelivering call signals between the client computer and the telephonehandset.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments,but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichlike references denote similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemincorporating the teachings of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow charts illustrating one embodiment of a methodfor establishing a voice communication session between a client computerand a PSTN handset, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2C is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method forestablishing a direct telephony connection between the client computerand the exemplary communication system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer serverincorporating the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the software architecture of theexemplary server of FIG. 3, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are graphical illustrations of alternate embodiments ofPush-To-Talk™ indicators for requesting a voice communication session,suitable for use in the exemplary communication system described inFIGS. 1-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specificnumbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without the specific details. In other instances, well knownfeatures are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the presentinvention. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, certain method stepsare delineated as separate steps, however, these separately delineatedsteps should not be construed as necessarily order dependent in theirperformance.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is presented illustrating anexemplary communication system 100 incorporating the teachings of thepresent invention for connecting a user of an internet telephony enabledclient computer with a user of a PSTN endpoint (e.g., telephonehandset), and routing the voice call off of the internet. While thepresent invention will be described in the context of this exemplarycomputer system, based on the descriptions to follow, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited tothis embodiment, and may be also practiced with intranet (in lieu of theinternet) and/or automated/computerized telephony answering equipment(in lieu of telephone handsets).

For the illustrated embodiment, client computer 102 incorporated withthe teachings of the present invention, while in data communication witha web server, e.g. web server 128, through PSTN 140 and Internet 150, ispresented with a Push-To-Talk™ option by web server 128. When clientcomputer 102 selects the Push-To-Talk™ option, a server incorporatedwith the teachings of the present invention (e.g., bridgeport 162)automatically determines an appropriate destination PSTN extension, e.g.the PSTN extension of telephone handset 142, as well as an appropriateone of the community of internet/PSTN changeover servers (e.g.,bridgeports 162 and 165) to place the voice call to the PSTN extensionand facilitate the voice call between the user of client computer 102and the user of a PSTN endpoint (e.g., handset 142). In the context ofthe example embodiment, for differentiation and ease of explanation,bridgeport 162 will be referred to as a page bridgeport, while theselected internet/PSTN changeover server (e.g., bridgeport 165) will bereferred to as a changeover bridgeport. In one embodiment, thePush-To-Talk™ option is pre-associated with bridgeport 162 by web server128, and the determination of the destination PSTN extension bybridgeport 162 is made in accordance with one or more attributes of webserver 128, such as the identity of web server 128, and optionally, oneor more attributes of client computer 102, such as the zip code of thearea client computer 102 is located. In alternate embodiments, pagebridgeport 162 is not pre-associated with the Push-To-Talk™ option, butrather is selected dynamically by web server 128.

Client computer 102, web servers 120 and 128, bridgeports 162 and 165,and handset 142 are communicatively coupled to each other by way of PSTN140 and internet 150 as shown. More specifically, client computer 102 iscoupled to internet 150 by way of a direct connection to internetservice provider (ISP) 112. Client computer 102 is coupled to ISP 112through PSTN extension 104, communication line 106 and PSTN 140. Inother words, for the illustrated embodiment, client computer 102includes a modulation/demodulation (MODEM) device (not shown) coupled toPSTN extension 104. However, a client computer may be coupled to ISP 112through a network connection using a network interface instead, such asclient computer 108 using network connection 110. Alternatively, aclient computer may also be directly coupled to internet 150 such asclient computer 116 using direct connection 118.

Web servers 120 and 128 are coupled to internet 150 through connections122 and 130. Although not illustrated, web servers 120 and 128 may alsobe coupled to PSTN 140. Similarly, bridgeports 162 and 165 of thepresent invention are coupled to internet 150 through connections 164and 167. Bridgeports 162 and 165 are also coupled to PSTN 140 throughcommunication lines 163 and 166 respectively. Handset 142 is coupled toPSTN 140 through PSTN extension 143 and communication line 144.

Communication lines 106, 115 and 144 may simply be plain old telephoneservice (POTS) communication lines, although other types ofcommunication lines may be used. For example, in the case ofcommunication line 106, it may be an integrated service digital network(ISDN) line, whereas in the case of communication line 115, it may be aT1 (1.533 Mbps) or an E1 (2.0488 Mbps) trunk line. In the case ofcommunication line 144, it may be a wireless cellular connection, aPersonal Communications Services (PCS) connection, and the like.

PSTN 140 includes a number of Service Switching Points (SSP), SignalTransfer Points (STP), and Service Control Points (SCP) coupled to eachother (not shown). PSTN extension 104 through communication line 106 iscoupled to a “local” SSP, which in turn is coupled to a number of other“local” PSTN extensions, including e.g. PSTN extension 113 if ISP 112 isa “local” ISP served by the same SSP. In addition, the “local” SSP isalso coupled to an associated STP, which in turn is coupled to other“remote” SSPs. Each of the “remote” SSPs is coupled to a number of“remote” PSTN extensions, including e.g. extension 143, if handset 142is a “remote” handset served by a “remote” SSP. As is well known in theart, internet 150 includes a number of networks interconnected byrouters, interconnecting the various client computers, web servers andbridgeports together. [As described earlier, internet 150 may be aprivate intranet instead.]

Except for the incorporated teachings of the present invention (to bemore fully described below), client computer 102 is intended torepresent a broad category of internet telephony enabled computersystems known in the art. An example of such a computer system is adesktop computer system equipped with a high performance microprocessor,such as the Pentium® processor manufactured by Intel Corporation ofSanta Clara, Calif. or the Alpha® processor manufactured by DigitalEquipment Corporation of Manard, Mass.; a number of audio input andoutput peripherals/interface for inputting, digitizing and compressingoutbound audio, and for decompressing and rendering inbound audio; acommunication interface for sending and receiving various data packets(including audio data packets) in accordance with certain standardcommunication protocol, such as a V.42bis compliant modem or an Ethernetadapter card; a windows-based operating system including internetworkingcommunication services providing support for Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (and other Internet CommunicationSuite protocols) and socket services, such as Windows™ 95 developed byMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; a web communications tool suchas Navigator™, developed by Netscape Communications of Mountain View,Calif.; and an internet telephony application, such as the abovedescribed IPhone™³ developed by Intel Corporation. ³ Note that it is notnecessary for the internet telephony application to explicitly supportvoice calls with telephone handsets, as is the case with IPhone and manyof the prior art internet telephony applications.

In one embodiment, the teachings of the present invention areincorporated in client computer 102 in the form of a client application.In one embodiment, the client application is a bridgeport driver. Theclient bridgeport driver may be made available to client computer 102 ina number of alternate means. For example, the client bridgeport drivermay be distributed via diskettes produced by a bridgeport vendor, ordownloaded from a web server of the bridgeport vendor. In otherembodiments, the teachings of the present invention are incorporated inthe browser and/or the operating system (OS) of client computer 102. Forease of understanding, the remaining descriptions will be presented inthe context of the client bridgeport driver embodiment.

Except for the presentation of webpages having Push-To-Talk™ optionspre-associated with the bridgeports of the present invention, webservers 120 and 128 are intended to represent a broad category of webservers, including e.g. corporate presence servers and governmentpresence servers, known in the art. Any number of high performancecomputer servers may be employed as web servers 120 and 128, e.g. acomputer server equipped with one or more Pentium® Pro processors fromIntel Corp., running Mircrosoft's Windows® NT operating system, or acomputer server equipped with one or more SPARC® processors from SunMicrosystems of Mountain View, Calif., running Sun's Solaris® operatingsystem.

Similarly, ISP 112 is intended to represent a broad category of internetservice providers. An ISP may be a “small” local internet accessprovider, or one of a number of point of presence providers offered by a“large” ISP. It is also anticipated that ISP 112 may be incorporatedwith an SSP of PSTN 140. Handset 142 is intended to represent a broadcategory of conventional handsets known in the art, including but notlimited to desktop handsets, cordless handsets, and wireless handsets.No special features are required of handset 142 for it to be called andconnected to internet telephony enabled client computer 102, inaccordance with the present invention. [As described earlier, handset142 may also be automated/computerized telephony answering equipment.]

Before we proceed to describe bridgeports 162 and 165 in further detail,it should be noted that one skilled in the art of, for example,telecommunications, will appreciate that the communication systemillustrated in FIG. 1, is significantly more complex than that which isdepicted. For example, each SSP of PSTN 140 may service thousands ofPSTN extensions, and there are numerous SSPs, STPs and SCPs in a commonPSTN implementation. Internet 150 includes well over several hundredthousand networks. Together, PSTN 140 and internet 150 interconnectmillions of client computers and web servers. Nonetheless, FIG. 1 doescapture a number of the more relevant components of a communicationsystem necessary to illustrate the interrelationship between clientcomputer 102, web server 128, bridgeports 162 and 168, and handset 142,such that one skilled in the art may practice the present invention.Also, while the present invention is being described in the context ofclient computer 102 being engaged in data communication with web server128, as will be readily apparent from the description to follow, thepresent invention may be practiced with any “client” computer engaged indata communication with any “web” or “info” server.

Turning now to FIG. 2A, a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of themethod steps of the present invention for establishing and facilitatinga voice call to a PSTN extension for a networked client computer isshown. For ease of explanation, the method of FIGS. 2A-2C will bedeveloped in the context of an example implementation, wherein a user ofclient computer 102 is engaged in a data communication session involvinga webpage, projected by web server 128, which incorporates aPush-To-Talk™ feature wherein the user of the webpage may “push” adisplayed Push-To-Talk™ button to cause a voice connection to beestablished with a local office, retail center and the like, associatedwith the web server, enabling the user of client computer 102 to engagein a voice call with a user of a PSTN endpoint (e.g., handset 142)located at the “local office”. [Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the terms “push” and “pushing” are metaphoric descriptions of theaction taken by a user of the client computer. The action is inactuality accomplished, e.g., by the user clicking a mouse button, uponmoving a cursor over the displayed Push-To-Talk™ button.]

With reference to FIG. 2A, the method begins at step 202 with a user ofclient computer 102 “pushing” the Push-To-Talk™ button projected withthe webpage. As described earlier, the Push-To-Talk™ button ispre-associated with a bridgeport, e.g., page bridgeport 162. In oneembodiment, the pre-association is accomplished via HyperText MarkupLanguage (HTML) elements embedded in the webpage, identifying theUniform Resource Locator (URL) of bridgeport 162. The HTML elementsfurther specify that a Push-To-Talk™ event notice including the URL ofweb server 128 is to be posted to page bridgeport 162. Thus, in responseto the user's “pushing” of the Push-To-Talk™ button, a HyperTextTransmission Protocol (HTTP) connection is temporarily establishedbetween client computer 102 and page bridgeport 162, and a messageposting the Push-To-Talk™ event is sent to page bridgeport 162.

For the illustrated embodiment, in response to the Push-To-Talk™ eventnotification, page bridgeport 162 identifies itself to client computer102, providing client computer 102 with its internet protocol (IP)address, step 204. The HTTP connection is closed upon sending the returndata to client computer 102 by page bridgeport 162. In one embodiment,the identification and provision of page bridgeport's IP address alsoincludes identification that the information is associated with aPush-To-Talk™ button projected by web server 128. More specifically, theURL of web server 128 is also returned to client computer 102. For theillustrated embodiment, the returned data also includes a command forstarting up the client bridgeport driver on client computer 102.

Next, for the illustrated embodiment, client computer 102 identifiesitself to page bridgeport 162, providing page bridgeport 162 with its IPaddress and attributes. For the illustrated embodiment, theidentification is performed by the launched client bridgeport driver, byway of another HTTP connection. In one embodiment, the identification isalso made in the form of a call request to talk to a person, such as anagent, associated with web server 128. In one embodiment, the attributeinformation includes a zip code for the area client computer 102 islocated. In another embodiment, the attribute information includes aPSTN extension associated with client computer 102. In one embodiment,the URL of web server 128 is also re-transmitted.

In response, page bridgeport 162 determines a destination PSTN extensionfor the requested call, step 208. In one embodiment, the determinationis based on attributes of web server 162, e.g. the URL or the associatedcorporate name (if provided) of web server 162. In another embodiment,the determination is also based on attributes of client computer 102,e.g. the zip code or the telephone area code/prefix associated withclient computer 102. In one embodiment, page bridgeport 162 is equippedwith a PSTN extension database having the necessary attributes and PSTNextension information for performing the determination. In an alternateembodiment, page bridgeport 162 is not equipped with such a PSTNextension database, but equipped with services that access externalon-line services (e.g., geographic location services, directoryservices, etc.) to make the determination. An example of an on-linegeographic service is MapBlast™, developed by Vicinity Corporation ofPalo Alto, Calif.

Upon determining the destination PSTN extension, for the illustratedembodiment, page bridgeport 162 selects an internet/PSTN changeoverserver. In one embodiment, the internet/PSTN changeover server is abridgeport, such as bridgeport 165 (hereafter, changeover bridgeport),where the requested voice call would be routed off internet 150 and ontoPSTN 140, step 210. The selection is made from a “community” ofbridgeports, to be described more fully below. In one embodiment, the“community” of bridgeports are “private” bridgeports deployed by thecorporation of web server 128. In another embodiment, the “community” ofbridgeports are “public” bridgeports deployed by a service company thatoffers “bridgeport” service of the present invention, and subscribed bythe corporation of web server 128. Note that page bridgeport 162 mayselect itself as the changeover bridgeport, either because of theselection criteria employed dictate the result, or by virtue of asingleton community, i.e., page bridgeport 162 is the only bridgeport ofthe “community”. For ease of understanding, the remaining descriptionswill be presented in the context of bridgeport 165 being the selectedchangeover bridgeport.

Upon selecting changeover bridgeport 165, for the illustratedembodiment, page bridgeport 162 registers the requested call withchangeover bridgeport 165, step 210. In one embodiment, the registrationreserves bandwidth on changeover bridgeport 165 for the requested call.In one embodiment, the registration includes provision of the source IPaddress of the voice call, i.e., the IP address of client computer 102,the source type (e.g. H.323), the destination address, i.e. thedestination PSTN extension of handset 142, and the destination type(e.g. POTS).

Next, for the illustrated embodiment, page bridgeport 162 identifieschangeover bridgeport 165 to client computer 102, providing clientcomputer 102 with the IP address of hop off bridgeport 165, step 212. Inone embodiment, where the call request is made through an HTTPconnection, step 212 also includes closing the HTTP connection. In oneembodiment, the identification also includes provision of the URL of webserver 128. In one embodiment, both the identification, i.e., the IPaddress of changeover bridgeport 165, and the URL of web server 128 areprovided to client bridgeport driver.

Next, for the illustrated embodiment, client computer 102 places a netcall to changeover bridgeport 165, step 214. In one embodiment, the netcall is an H.323 call placed by an internet telephony application. Inone embodiment, step 214 also includes automatic launching of theinternet telephony application to place the net call, if an internettelephony application has not been previously launched. For theillustrated embodiment, the automatic launching is performed by theclient bridgeport driver.

In response, changeover bridgeport 165 places a voice call to the PSTNextension of handset 142, and bridges the net and the voice calls, step216, thereby allowing a user of client computer 102 to communicate witha user of handset 142. In bridging the two calls, changeover bridgeport165 digitizes and compresses inbound call signals received from handset142, and delivers the encoded call signals to client computer 102 viathe previously established H.323 connection. The compressed inbound callsignals are decompressed by the communication interface of clientcomputer 102 and rendered by the internet telephony application.Similarly, outbound call signals emanating from client computer 102 aredigitized by the audio interface, compressed by the communicationinterface of client computer 102 and delivered to changeover bridgeport165 via the H.323 connection, wherein they are decompressed, and uponconversion, forwarded to handset 142. In other words, changeoverbridgeport 165 converts the voice information between PSTN and IPprotocols and delivers voice call information to/from handset 142 andclient computer 102 until call completion.

With reference now being made to FIG. 2B, one embodiment of step 216 isillustrated. As the H.323 connection between client computer 102 andchangeover bridgeport 165 is established, changeover bridgeport 165determines if a direct connection with client computer 102 is to beestablished, if client computer 102 and changeover bridgeport 165 arenot in direct connection with each other. If changeover bridgeport 165makes the determination not to establish a direct connection betweenclient computer 102 and itself, changeover bridgeport 165 establishesand facilitates the voice call to PSTN extension 143 as describedearlier, in step 230. Additionally, in those cases where changeoverbridgeport 165 is not in direct telephony contact with client computer102, (i.e., the call is being routed through a number of intermediateservers throughout Internet 150), changeover bridgeport 165 alsomonitors the “quality” of the voice call. Any number of metrics known inthe art may be beneficially employed to measure the quality of the voicecall, e.g. the number of audio packets dropped within a predeterminedtime interval (Packet Error Rate), the signal to noise ratio, the risein the measured noise floor, and the like.

If quality of the voice call is not monitored and the voice call has notbeen completed, steps 232-234, changeover bridgeport 165 returns to step230. However, if quality of the voice call is monitored, step 232,changeover bridgeport 165 further determines if the quality has reacheda predetermined threshold and, in addition, whether the user of clientcomputer 102 has previously rejected an offer to switch to a directtelephony connection with changeover bridgeport 165, step 236. If themeasured quality level is in an acceptable range, or the user haspreviously rejected an offer to establish a direct connection,changeover bridgeport 165 returns to step 230. Otherwise, changeoverbridgeport 165 prompts the user as to whether the user would like toswitch to a direct telephony connection between client computer 102 andchangeover bridgeport 165, step 238. If the user responds with anelection not to switch to a direct telephony connection, step 240,changeover bridgeport 165 returns to step 230. However, if the userresponds with an election to switch to a direct telephony connection,step 240, changeover bridgeport 165 causes a direct telephony connectionto be established between itself and client computer 102, step 242. Uponestablishing the direct telephony connection, changeover bridgeport 165continues to facilitate the voice call as described earlier, step 230.

Similarly, if back in step 228, changeover bridgeport 165 makes thedetermination to establish a direct connection between client computer102 and itself, the process proceeds to step 238 wherein the user ofclient computer 102 is offered the opportunity to accept or decline toestablish a direct connection between client computer 102 and changeoverbridgeport 165. From step 238, the process proceeds as describedearlier. Whether changeover bridgeport 165 proceeds to step 230 or tostep 238 directly from step 228 will be described in more detail below.

Turning now to FIG. 2C, a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of amethod for establishing a direct telephony connection between clientcomputer 102 and the PSIN extension associated with handset 142. In thecontext of the illustrated embodiment, changeover bridgeport 165provides a software to client computer 102, step 250. The software is aset of instructions containing information necessary to enable clientcomputer 102 to establish a direct telephony connection with changeoverbridgeport 165. Upon receipt of the software by client computer 102, thesoftware tears down the existing connection between client computer 102and the ISP currently in direct telephony contact with client computer102 (e.g., ISP 112), step 252. Having disconnected the prior connection,the provided software initiates a direct telephony connection tochangeover bridgeport 165 through the modem of client computer 102,thereby eliminating any intermediate servers, step 254. For theillustrated embodiment, the software is “equipped” with one ofchangeover bridgeport's PSTN extensions before being provided to clientcomputer 102. Finally, once the direct telephony connection from clientcomputer 102 is established, changeover bridgeport 165 logically“re-links” client computer 102 with the PSTN extension of handset 142,step 256, thereby allowing the previously established voice call to bere-connected (although, it should be noted that the physical PSTNconnection between the changeover bridgeport and the PSTN extension isnever disconnected; rather, it is the data connection between the clientcomputer and the changeover bridgeport that is disconnected in favor ofa direct telephony connection). In an alternate embodiment, the directconnect software may be pre-installed on client computer 102, e.g. aspart of client bridgeport application described earlier.

Returning now to step 228 of FIG. 2B, in one embodiment, changeoverbridgeport 165 proceeds to step 238 directly, without first monitoringthe quality of the voice call, if the changeover bridgeport 165 “knows”a priori that the quality of the voice call will be below an acceptablethreshold. For example, assume that it has been determined that thequality of a voice call drops below a predetermined quality level whenthe number of intermediate servers between a client computer (e.g.,client computer 102) and a changeover bridgeport (e.g., changeoverbridgeport 165) exceeds a certain number N₂. Given this example,notwithstanding the fact that changeover bridgeport 165 was originallyselected as the “best” changeover bridgeport from the “community” ofbridgeports, if the actual number of intermediate servers N₁ betweenclient computer 102 and changeover bridgeport 165 exceeds N₂, changeoverbridgeport 165 will know, before the voice call has been established,that the quality of the voice call will be below the acceptablepredetermined quality level. In one embodiment, the number ofintermediate servers is returned to changeover bridgeport 165 when pagebridgeport 162 selects bridgeport 165 as the changeover bridgeport andregisters the voice call with changeover bridgeport 165. In oneembodiment, changeover bridgeport 165 preserves the inputs along withthe registration information for use at step 228. In another embodiment,bridgeport 165 may retain up to a predetermined number of “bidresponses”, which will include the number of intermediate servers, for aperiod of time sufficiently long to ensure that if bridgeport 165 isselected as the changeover bridgeport, the bid response information isavailable.

In an alternate embodiment, changeover bridgeport 165 proceeds to step238 directly, without having first monitored the quality of the voicecall, if changeover bridgeport 165 was instructed to do so by pagebridgeport 162 when page bridgeport 162 selects bridgeport 165 as thechangeover bridgeport and registers the voice call. Page bridgeport 162may select to so instruct changeover bridgeport 165, based on a similardecision process described earlier for the case where changeoverbridgeport 165 makes the decision. Alternatively, page bridgeport 162may do so because it is so instructed by web server 128, throughparameters embedded within the Push-To-Talk™ button. In other words, thePush-To-Talk™ button, projected by web server 128, may be a “directquality” Push-To-Talk™ button that inherently includes offering the userof client computer 102 with the option to conduct the voice call via adirect connection at a “direct quality” level.

In summary, page bridgeport 162, in response to a Push-To-Talk™ eventnotification, solicits inputs and selects a changeover bridgeport (e.g.,bridgeport 165) from a “community” of bridgeports. Changeover bridgeport165, in response to the placement of a net call from client computer102, establishes a PSTN connection to the appropriate PSTN extension andbridges the call. In so doing, client computer 102 may be offered tohave the voice call conducted at a “direct quality” level via a directconnection between client computer 102 and changeover bridgeport 165.The offer may be presented dynamically in the middle of the call, at thediscretion of changeover bridgeport 165 as it detects the quality of thevoice call dropping below an predetermined quality level. Alternatively,the offer may be presented at the beginning of the voice call, at thediscretion of changeover bridgeport 165, page bridgeport 162 or webserver 128.

Note that except for the solicitation of the concurrence of the user ofclient computer 102 to switch to a direct telephony connection withchangeover bridgeport 165, steps 204-206 are all performed automaticallyin response to step 202, without requiring any intervention from theuser of client computer 102. In particular, it does not require the userof client computer 102 to enter the PSTN extension of handset 142, northe IP address of changeover bridgeport 165. It does not even requirethe user of client computer 102 to know this information. All that isrequired of the user is the metaphorical “pushing” of the Push-To-Talk™button projected by web server 128. Furthermore, it should also be notedthat the concurrence of the user of client computer 102 is notnecessary. For example, in the instance where the direct connection willbe toll free, e.g., a local call, or the changeover bridgeport has an“800” access number, or the toll charge is to be borne by the webserver, the Push-To-Talk™ button may be embedded with direct connectionsoftware that automatically establishes a direct connection with thechangeover bridgeport.

It should also be noted that the voice connection has minimal impact onestablishing any additional data connections with any number of webservers 120 and 128. In other words, client computer 102 may continue tobrowse webpages offered by web servers 120 and 128, while simultaneouslysupporting the voice connection with handset 142 via changeoverbridgeport 165. In addition, although there may be a number ofintermediate routers in Internet 150 between changeover bridgeport 165and client computer 102, changeover bridgeport 165 is the only servercharged with supporting both the voice connection and the H.323connection, while the voice connection is transparent to theintermediate routers. In other words, the information exchange betweenchangeover bridgeport 165, through the plurality of intermediate routersof Internet 150, to client computer 102 will appear as normal datapackets to the intermediate routers.

Returning now to the selection of a changeover bridgeport described instep 210, page bridgeport 162 selects changeover bridgeport 165 from acommunity of bridgeports. In one embodiment, page bridgeport 162 firstsolicits input on a number of call characteristics from each bridgeportmember of the community. The call characteristics may include the numberof intermediate servers (Is) required to connect client computer 102with the responding bridgeport member, the toll charge (Tc) that may beincurred by placing the telephone call from the responding bridgeport,the bandwidth (B) currently available on the responding bridgeport, thenumber of PSTN connections (P) supported by the responding bridgeport,service premiums (S), if any, charged by the responding bridgeport, andso forth. In the context of the example implementation, one memberbridgeport may respond with an indication that there are nointermediaries between itself and client computer 102 which may providea higher quality of service, however, given its connection point to PSTN140, there may be a significant toll charge incurred in placing thetelephone call to handset 142 from this member bridgeport. On the otherhand, another member bridgeport may respond with a low toll charge, butwith a higher number of intermediaries as the voice data will have toroute through a large number of routers.

In any event, for the illustrated embodiment, page bridgeport 162calculates a Call Metric (CM) for each of the responding bridgeport thatis representative of the bridgeports ability to establish and facilitatethe voice call between client computer 102 and handset 142. Equation (1)is an example of an equation used to calculate the Call Metric for eachof the responding bridgeport, wherein the bridgeport with the lowest CMis determined to be able to provide the best all around service. Itshould be noted that equation (1) is merely illustrative, as one skilledin the art will appreciate that suitable alternative equations may bebeneficially employed to calculate alternative call metrics.

$\begin{matrix}{{CM}_{i} = {{W_{1}\left( {Is}_{i} \right)} + {W_{2}\left( {Tc}_{i} \right)} + \frac{W_{3}}{B_{i}} + \frac{W_{4}}{P_{i}} + {W_{s}\left( S_{i} \right)}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

-   -   where: Is number of intermediate servers        -   Tc toll charge estimate        -   B available bandwidth on responding server        -   P number of PSTN ports available on responding server        -   S premium service charge        -   W weighting factor

In one embodiment of the present invention, the number of intermediateservers (Is) is determined by each of the responding bridgeports fromthe community of bridgeports through the use of a “traceroute” function,common to the UNIX network operating environment. As one skilled in theart will appreciate, the execution of a “traceroute” command by abridgeport will produce a result quantifying the number of intermediaterouters between the execution bridgeport and a destination address(provided in the command line). Accordingly, in one embodiment, theexecution of the command: “traceroute (IP_address)”, will return anumber representative of the intermediate routers required for theresponding bridgeport to communicate with the source address,represented by IP_address.

In one embodiment, an estimate of the toll charge is determined locallyat the responding bridgeport by accessing a toll rate table stored onthe responding bridgeport. An example toll rate table is depicted inTable 1. As illustrated in the example toll rate table of Table 1, anestimate toll charge is determined by analyzing the components of thedestination telephone number against a toll charge hierarchy. If none ofthe elements of the destination telephone number match (i.e., hit) theelements of the toll rate table, a high toll charge estimate isreturned. If, however, there is a hit on the area code and the telephonenumber prefix, a much lower toll charge or even toll free estimate isreturned. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, theresponding bridgeport may query the local SSP (i.e., the SSP to which itis coupled) to ascertain a specific toll charge value. In such a case,the communication between the responding bridgeport and the local SSP isconducted via an out-of-band signaling protocol such as Signaling System7 (SS7).

TABLE 1 TOLL CHARGE LOOKUP TABLE Elements of Destination Telephone No.Relative Toll Charge Estimate No Hit $ $ $ $ Area Code Hit $ $ Area Codeand PSTN Prefix Hit 0

In an alternate embodiment, page bridgeport 162 may also involve clientcomputer 102 in the selection of a changeover bridgeport, by presentingthe solicited responses to the client computer 102, in either anuncondensed or a condensed format. Whether client computer 102 should beinvolved in the selection process is a design choice, a trade offbetween ease of use (without requiring intervention from the user ofclient computer 102) and functionality (allowing the user of clientcomputer 102 to veto or influence the selection). Between the twodistinct choices, a number of alternate hybrid embodiments exist whichdo not deviate from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Although bridgeport 162 has been described as a page bridgeport, andbridgeport 165 has been described as a changeover bridgeport, it shouldbe noted that since they are both members of a community of bridgeportsthey may, at one time be a page bridgeport, while serving as achangeover bridgeport at another time, or the bridgeport maysimultaneously server as both the page and changeover bridgeport. Aswill be readily apparent from the descriptions to follow, bridgeports162 and 165 of the present invention can be practiced with computerservers programmed to perform the above described bridgeport functions,thus it is expected that a bridgeport may be integrated with otherequipment in a variety of manners, for examples, with a web server, anISP, a STP, and so forth.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, two block diagrams illustrating thehardware and software elements of an exemplary computer server 300suitable to be employed as a bridgeport are depicted. As illustrated,exemplary computer server 300 is comprised of multiple processors 302a-302 n and memory subsystem 308 coupled to processor bus 304 asdepicted. Additionally, computer server 300 is comprised of a second bus310, a third bus 312 and a fourth bus 314. In one embodiment, buses 312and 314 are Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) buses, while bus 310is an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus. PCI buses 312 and 314are bridged by bus bridge 316, and bridged to ISA bus 310 and processorbus 304 by I/O controller 306. Coupled to PCI bus 312 are networkinterface 318 and display interface 320, which in turn is coupled todisplay 322. Coupled to PCI bus 314 is computer telephony interface(CTI) 324, PSTN interface 326 and SS7 Interface 328. Coupled to ISA bus310 are hard disk interface 330, which in turn is coupled to a harddrive 332. Additionally, coupled to ISA bus 310 keyboard and cursorcontrol device 334, which in turn is coupled keyboard 336 and cursorcontrol device 338.

CTI interface 324 provides the necessary hardware to interface exemplarycomputer server 300 to telephony equipment, such as private branchexchange (PBX) equipment. PSTN interface 326 provides the necessaryhardware to interface exemplary computer server 300 to a plurality ofPSTN communication lines (e.g., T1, E1 or POTS), wherein the actualnumber of PSTN communication lines interfaced will be implementationdependent. Additionally, PSTN interface 326 provides advanced DSP-basedvoice, dual-tone multiple frequency (DTMF) and call progressfunctionality, which allows for downloadable DSP protocol and voiceprocessing algorithms, thereby providing CODEC support locally on theinterface. Examples of supported codecs include the Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) codec and the ITU-T G.723.1 protocol codecs,the specification for which are commonly available from the GSMconsortium and the International Telecommunications Union, respectively.Similarly, SS7 interface 328 provides the hardware necessary tointerface exemplary computer server 300 with PSTN trunk lines (e.g.,ISDN) supporting the out-of-band communication protocol (e.g., SS7))used between PSTN network elements (i.e., SSP-SSP, SSP-STP, STP-SCP,etc.). In one embodiment, PSTN interface 326 is preferably an AG-T1™(for U.S. implementations, while an AG-E1 may be seamlessly substitutedfor European implementations), while SS7 interface 328 is preferably theTX3000™, both of which, along with their accompanying software drivers,are manufactured by and commonly available from Natural MicroSystems ofNatick, Mass. Otherwise, all other elements, processors 302*, memorysystem 308 and so forth perform their conventional functions known inthe art. Insofar as their constitutions are generally well known tothose skilled in the art, they need not be further described.

From a software perspective, FIG. 4 illustrates the software elements ofexemplary computer server 300. In particular, exemplary computer server300 is shown comprising an application layer consisting of a BridgeportManagement Driver 402, Hop Off™⁴ driver 404, and other drivers 406. HopOff™ driver 404, supported by Management Driver 402, optional drivers406, and abstracted service layer 408 implements the method steps ofFIG. 2 that are the responsibility of the community of bridgeports(i.e., bridgeports 162, and 165). In this respect, a changeoverbridgeport appropriate configured may be referred to as a Hop Off™bridgeport, in view of its incorporation of Hop Off™ driver 404. ⁴ HopOff™ is a Trademark of eFusion™, Incorporated of Beaverton, Oreg.

The Service Abstraction Layer (SAL) 408 is shown comprising SS7 services410, CTI Services 411, Management Services 412, Connection Services 414,Streaming Services 416, and Data Services 418. The protocol/servicelayer is shown comprising Telephony Application Programming Interface(TAPI) 420, Telephony Connection Protocol 422, PSTN Data Interface 424,CODEC 426, Real Time (Streaming) Protocol 428, and HTTP server 434. Alsoshown in this “layer” are configuration management data 419 maintainedby management service 412, and codec services 426 employed by streamingservices 416. The driver layer is shown comprising SS7 driver 427, CTIdriver 429, PSTN driver 430 and socket service 432. Data and controlinformation are exchanged between these elements in the fashiondepicted.

Within the context of the present invention, one purpose of SAL 408 isto provide an Application Programming Interface (API) for all theavailable bridgeport and related services in exemplary computer server300. The API abstracts out the actual modules used for providingservices such as connection establishment (414), streaming and dataexchange services (416 and 418). Additionally, SAL 408 provides thecommon operation tools such as queue management, statistics management,state management and the necessary interface between the softwareservices (i.e., drivers in the driver layer). SAL 408 is alsoresponsible for loading and unloading the appropriate drivers asappropriate.

Connection service 414 includes a connection establishment and tear-downmechanism facilitating the interconnection to the PSTN 140.Additionally, for the illustrated embodiment, connection service 414employs connection and compatibility services which facilitateinteroperation between communication equipment that support industrystandards, thereby allowing a variety of communication equipmentmanufactured by different vendors to be benefited from the presentinvention. Connection services 414 include, in particular, services forsupporting standard video telephony, such as ITU-T's H.323 videotelephony, and standard data communication, such as ITU-T's T.120 datacommunication protocol. Examples of the connection establishment andtear-down mechanisms supported by connection service layer 414 includeopening and starting PSTN ports, call control, DTMF collection, and tonegeneration, to name but a few.

Streaming service 416 is responsible for interfacing with the componentsthat provide the real-time streaming functionality for the multimediadata. Once the connection has been established between the connectionpoints (i.e., PSTN, H.323, etc.), streaming service 416 will take overthe management and streaming of data between the two connected parties,until the connection is terminated. CODEC service 426 facilitates theabove described compression and transmission of inbound call signalsfrom handset 142 as well as decompression and transmission of outboundcall signals from client computer 102.

Data service 418 is responsible for providing non real-time peer to peer(i.e., computer-computer) messaging and data exchange between exemplarycomputer server 300 and other Internet and perhaps PSTN basedapplications. Sending messages to exemplary computer server end-points(i.e., other similarly equipped bridgeports on the Internet) or otherservers within the PSTN is accomplished via data service 418.

CTI services 411 service all communications and automatic calldistribution (ACD) necessary for Private Branch Exchange (PBX) basedsystems. SS7 services 410 service all out of band communications withSTPs and/or SCPs of PSTN 140.

PSTN driver 430 is equipped to accommodate particularized PSTNinterfaces 326, whereas CTI driver 429 is equipped to supportparticularized ACD and PBX equipment. Similarly, SS7 driver 427 isequipped to support particularized SS7 interface 328.

Turning now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, graphical representations of alternateembodiments of a Push-To-Talk™ indicator for requesting a voicecommunication session, suitable for use in the exemplary communicationsystem of FIGS. 1-4, is shown. In FIG. 5, indicator 500 is a binaryprompt embedded in the HTML information for a webpage projected by a webserver (e.g., web server 128), and is selectively actuated by a user toinitiate a voice connection with a PSTN extension associated with ahandset. In one embodiment, indicator 500 is a Push-To-Talk™ button. Inresponse to a user actuation of Push-To-Talk™ button 500, a prompt 502for location information is projected to the user of client computer102. In one embodiment, prompt 502 may be a pull-down selection ofpredetermined locations (e.g., city/state and country locations),wherein the user is requested to make a selection of a location closestto the user. In response to providing the location information, anadditional prompt 504 may then be generated which allows the user to setthe weighting of different characteristics associated with establishingand facilitating the voice connection (e.g., cost and call quality). Inone embodiment, call characteristic prompt 504 includes slide members506 and 508 which are selectively manipulated by the user of clientcomputer 102 to correspond to “weighting values” (W_(i)) to be given to,for example, cost and connection quality, respectively.

Alternatively, in FIG. 6, indicator 600 is shown comprisingPush-To-Talk™ button 500 and location information prompt 502. Inresponse to the coextensive selection of location information and theactuation of Push-To-Talk™ button 500, an additional prompt 504 may thenbe generated which allows the user to set the weighting of differentcharacteristics associated with establishing and facilitating the voiceconnection (e.g., cost and call quality). In the alternate embodiment ofFIG. 7, exemplary indicator 700 is shown comprising Push-To-Talk™ button500, location information prompt 502 and call characteristic prompt 504.In accordance with the coextensive selection of location information andcall characteristic information with the actuation of Push-To-Talk™button 500, the establishment of a voice connection is initiated inaccordance with the method steps of FIGS. 2A-2 c.

While the method and apparatus of the present invention has beendescribed in terms of the above illustrated embodiments, those skilledin the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to theembodiments so described. In particular, the present invention maybeneficially be implemented in combination with other technology toaccommodate a wide variety of communication needs. For example, in oneembodiment, the Push-To-Talk™ service instead of being offered by thecorporate web server, may be offered by an independent third party.Accordingly, an intermediate third party server (or bridgeport) otherthan the web server may “inject” a Push-To-Talk™ button into theinformation exchange between the web server and the client computerwhich, when enabled, will initiate a voice call to the local affiliate.Just such an invention is discussed in copending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/818,771 , entitled “Method and Apparatus for Value AddedContent Delivery”, filed contemporaneously herewith and commonlyassigned to the assignee of the present application, the disclosure ofwhich is fully incorporated herein by reference. In other communicationenvironments, it may be beneficial for the user of the client computerand the user of the PSTN extension (who also has access to a computer)to view common information on the computer displays while maintainingthe voice connection (e.g., a customer service, help desk, sales, etc.).A description of just such an invention is discussed in the U.S. patentapplication entitled “Method and Apparatus for Synchronizing InformationBrowsing Among Multiple Systems”, U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/818,741, filed contemporaneously herewith and commonly assigned tothe assignee of the present application, the disclosure of which isfully incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, it may bebeneficial to provide customized call processing services to thecommunication environment. Examples of such customized call processingservices include providing an automated call attendant service havingspecialized call processing features. Just such an invention isdisclosed in the U.S. patent application entitled “Method and Apparatusfor Providing Customized Call Processing”, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 08/818,579, filed contemporaneously herewith and commonly assignedto the assignee of the present application, the disclosure of which isfully incorporated herein by reference. All of the foregoing patentapplications are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Thus, thepresent invention can be practiced with modification and alterationwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, thedescription is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive onthe present invention.

Thus, a method and apparatus for establishing a voice call to a PSTNextension for a networked client computer, and for routing the call offof the network has been described.

1. A method of completing a telephone call comprising: sending said callto a first computer, said first computer communicating a calledtelephone number to a second computer to obtain operatingcharacteristics of at least a third computer and a fourth computer thatmay be capable of completion of said call, said first computer thenselecting either said third computer or said fourth computer to transfersaid call from a data network to a telephone network; wherein said thirdor said fourth computers are each adapted to route packetized voice dataassociated with said telephone call; and determining if said firstcomputer is directly connected to said third computer or said fourthcomputer; prompting a user with an opportunity to create a directconnection between said first computer and said third computer or saidfourth computer if said first computer is not directly connected toeither said third computer or said fourth computer; and establishing thedirect connection between said first computer and said third computer orsaid fourth computer.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said secondcomputer communicates with said third and fourth computers to ascertainaverage call length of calls completed from said first computer to saidthird and fourth computers.
 3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein saidsecond computer maintains information related to the cost oftransferring said call from said data network to said telephone networkvia each of said third and fourth computers.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein solicited call metrics are used to select said third or fourthcomputer.
 5. A method of completing packet telephone call of a packetswitched network and on to public switched telephone network (PSTN), themethod comprising: originating a telephone call that is transmitted aspacketized data at least partially along a transmitting line; forming aconnection from a client computer to a selecting computer, the selectingcomputer being one of several selecting computers, selecting by theselecting computer a bridgeport computer to complete the call of thepacket switching network, and establishing communications with saidselected bridgeport computer, said communications with said selectedBridgeport computer occurring while said client computer communicateswith other selecting computers; wherein said bridgeport computer isadapted to bridge packetized voice data associated with said telephonecall; determining if said client computer is directly connected to saidbridgeport computer prompting a user with an opportunity to create adirect connection between said client computer and said bridgeportcomputer if said client computer is not directly connected to saidbridgeport computer; and establishing the direct connection between saidclient computer and said bridgeport computer if so selected by the user.6. The method of claim 1 or 5 wherein the user has rejected theopportunity to create a direct connection between the client computerand the changeover bridgeport further comprising: monitoring a qualitylevel of the call, wherein the quality level of the call is determinedby measuring at least one of a number of audio packets dropped within apredetermined time interval, a packet error rate, a signal to noiseratio, and a rise in a measured noise floor; and prompting the user withanother opportunity to create the direct connection between the clientcomputer and the changeover bridgeport if the quality level of the callreaches a threshold level.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein saidselecting computer selects said bridgeport computer from a plurality ofbridgeport computers by calculating a call metric and using the callmetric to select said bridgeport computer.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein said call metric is at least one of an indicia of quality ofservice and an indicia of cost.